Blue Plate Special Of Sunny Optimism

And you know what they say: Optimism is for people who don't know how to enjoy pessimism.

***More progress on purging those awful (ugh, plotz, ptuui) jobs out of the Obamaconomy:

First-time claims for jobless benefits edged up by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts had expected a drop. That’s the highest total since February.

Initial claims have now risen in three of the last four weeks and are close to their high point for the year of 490,000, reached in late January. The four-week average, which smooths volatility, soared by 14,250 to 473,500, also the highest since late February.

The prospects of more layoffs added to this week’s grim outlook for the economy, which began Tuesday when the Federal Reserve lowered its assessment of the recovery.

Investors were bracing for another rocky day on Wall Street. Dow Jones industrial average futures, which were down about fifty points before the report came out, fell further. They were down nearly ninety points before the market opened.

484,000 more Americans liberated from the bougeoise fraud of enslavement to The Man, free to enjoy the wonders and miracles and perqs - like watching The Man's ill-gotten wealth take it in the shorts - of Obamatopia undistracted.  Thanks, Barry!

***Just a little bit more Obamanomics indoctrination and We, The People, will be completely cured of materialism once and for all!:

Americans’ self-reported spending in stores, restaurants, gas stations, and online averaged $62 per day during the week ending August 8. Early August consumer spending trends trail 2009 and will need to surge to match last year’s anemic back-to-school results.

Gallup’s consumer spending measure averaged $68 per day in July compared with $67 per day in June. This is consistent with the “mixed” chain store sales reported in July and the consensus expectation of a 0.2% increase in retail sales, excluding auto sales, when the Commerce Department reports on Friday. Retail sales is a broader measure — it includes the total receipts at stores selling durable and nondurable goods — than Gallup’s spending measure, which is more oriented toward discretionary spending, but the two measures often trend together when auto sales are excluded.

More importantly, Gallup’s weekly spending measure for the first week of August shows no improvement over that of the last week in July or that of the same week a year ago. In turn, this suggests that back-to-school sales are unlikely to substantially exceed last year’s depressed levels. In fact, this week’s comparable of a year ago was a big spending week, making for challenging sales comparables for many retailers this year.

Not as big a decline as Godbama was shooting for, but at least we're not relapsing into capitalism.  Remember: if you want to help the Lord Barack save the American economy, STAY HOME in the studio apartment you rented for your family of eight after you got diddled out of your home and COUNT ALL THE MONEY he has generously stolen from The Man to give to you.  And whatever else you do, DON'T SPEND IT other than to donate to the Obama Family Weekly Vacation Fund (free prayer rugs for the most generous tithers!).

You've made enough money.  Lighter-Bringer said so.